When it comes to finding information, it's important to search through multiple databases to make sure you're not missing anything.
For each database you pick, you should ask yourself:
When conducting a systematic review intended for informing health care decisions, policy formation, legal and regulatory procedures, researchers should not only perform searches in general databases but also in subject-specific databases, trial registers, searches for grey literature, other related reviews, and examine reference lists.
Engaging in such comprehensive searches is recommended to minimise the risk of bias and to uncover a substantial amount of evidence. If this is the search you would like to engage in, we highly recommend reading chapter 4 of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions.
Conducting thorough searches helps reduce bias and discover a wide range of evidence-based materials, which is essential when conducting systematic reviews. Consulting an experienced librarian can aid you in designing your search strategy and selecting the appropriate resources for your research.
When conducting systematic searches for university projects or dissertations, there is typically no need for the searches to be so thorough. Nevertheless, it is still advisable to explore both multidisciplinary and subject-specific databases.
More information on health sciences resources available to UM students.
A database is an organised collection of data that is easily accessible, managed, and updated. The UM Library subscribes to multiple databases that grant access to thousands of online journals which are classified by subject.
That being said, please note that search engines like HyDi (UM Library catalogue) or Google Scholar are not considered databases themselves. They serve as platforms with search interfaces that provide access to databases. When conducting a systematic review, it is always advisable to search databases individually.
When conducting the systematic reviews, it is important to cover as much literature as possible, hence selecting the appropriate databases becomes crucial.
Considering that systematic review research teams typically comprise members from various institutions, they might have access to different databases.
If you are a student at UM, please choose from the databases to which the Library subscribes. You can find the complete list on our website.
Scopus: one of the largest citation databases indexing peer-reviewed journals across subjects such as life sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, and health sciences.
Web of Science: provides access to multiple databases containing reference and citation data from academic journals, conference proceedings, and scholarly documents from various academic fields.
MEDLINE: the National Library of Medicine® (NLM®) journal citation database. Includes citations from scholarly journals published around the world, covering subjects such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and health care.
PubMed: search tool for accessing literature citations and linking to full-text journals at web sites of participating publishers. PubMed comprises more than 25 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.
PubMed Central: free digital repository that archives open access full-text scholarly articles that have been published in biomedical and life sciences journals.
PubMed vs. Medline: PubMed includes MEDLINE indexed journals, journals/manuscripts deposited in PubMed Central and National Center for Biotechnology Information Bookshelf.
Find out more.
CINAHL: stands for Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health. This comprehensive research database provides full text for over 1,200 nursing and allied health journals. With CINAHL Complete, users get fast and easy full-text access to top journals, evidence-based care sheets, quick lessons and more.
PsycINFO: includes information about the psychological aspects of related fields such as medicine, psychiatry, nursing, sociology, education, pharmacology, technology, linguistics, anthropology, business, law, and others. PsycINFO is indexed with controlled vocabulary from APA's Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms®.
PEDro (Physiotherapy Evidence Database): designed to provide physiotherapists and healthcare professionals with access to high-quality evidence related to physiotherapy interventions and treatments.
TRIP (Turning Research Into Practice) Database: a clinical search engine designed to assist healthcare professionals, researchers, and students in finding high-quality evidence-based information. It compiles a wide range of medical literature, guidelines, systematic reviews, and other evidence sources from various reputable websites and databases.
Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL): a bibliography of controlled trials identified by contributors to the Cochrane Collaboration and others, as part of an international effort to hand search the world's journals and create an unbiased source of data for systematic reviews. CCTR includes reports published in conference proceedings and in many other sources.
UM Library has access to Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials via EBSCO interface. You can still perform your searches in CENTRAL and then access full text material via HyDi or directly in the EBSCO database.
International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP): platform where one can find registered clinical trials operated by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Clinicaltrials.gov: an online database created by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, providing information about clinical research studies.
EUclinicaltrials: an online database to supports the undertaking and oversight of clinical trials in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA).
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) is an online register of clinical trials being undertaken in Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere. The ANZCTR includes trials from the full spectrum of therapeutic areas of pharmaceuticals, surgical procedures, preventive measures, lifestyle, devices, treatment and rehabilitation strategies and complementary therapies.
The ISRCTN Registry: a clinical trial registry, recognised by WHO and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) that accepts all clinical research studies (proposed, ongoing, or completed).
Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: contains full text articles, as well as protocols focusing on the effects of healthcare. Data is evidence-based medicine and is often combined statistically with meta-analysis.
Epistemonikos: multilingual database of systematic reviews related to health care and other scientific evidence.
PROSPERO: It is an international database of prospectively registered systematic reviews in health and social care, welfare, public health, education, crime, justice, and international development, where there is a health related outcome. Key features from the review protocol are recorded and maintained as a permanent record. PROSPERO aims to provide a comprehensive listing of systematic reviews registered at inception to help avoid duplication and reduce opportunity for reporting bias by enabling comparison of the completed review with what was planned in the protocol.
The Research Registry: It is a one-stop shop for registering all types of research studies, from ‘first in man’ case reports to observational/interventional studies to systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
INPLASY: It accepts systematic review protocols but it is against payment.
Read more: Where to prospectively register a systematic review
References
Booth, A., Noyes, J., Flemming, K., Moore, G., Tunçalp, Ö, & Shakibazadeh, E. (2019). Formulating questions to explore complex interventions within qualitative evidence synthesis. BMJ Global Health; BMJ Glob Health, 4, e001107. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001107
Cantrell, S. (2023, Sep 19). Systematic Reviews: 2. Develop a Research Question. Duke University. Retrieved Nov 7, 2023, from https://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/sysreview/question
Kibbee, M. (2023, Nov 2). A Guide to Evidence Synthesis: 1. Draft your Research Question. Cornell University. Retrieved Nov 7, 2023, from https://guides.library.cornell.edu/evidence-synthesis/research-question
Lefebvre, C., Glanville, J., Briscoe, S., Featherstone, R., Littlewood, A., Metzendorf, M., Noel-Storr, A., Paynter, R., Rader, T., Thomas, J., & Wieland, L. S. (2023). Chapter 4: Searching for and selecting studies. In J. Higgins, J. Thomas, J. Chandler, M. Cumpston, T. Li, M. J. Page & V. A. Welch (Eds.), Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions version 6.4 https://doi.org/https://training.cochrane.org/handbook/current/chapter-04
Martin, Z. (2023, Oct 4). Systematic Reviews - Research Guide: Where to search. Murdoch University. Retrieved Nov 7, 2023, from https://libguides.murdoch.edu.au/systematic/databases
University of Malta Library. (2023, University of Malta Library resources : nursing. OAR@UM. Retrieved Nov 7, 2023, from https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/27789
Compiled by:
Agata Scicluna Derkowska - Senior Assistant Librarian, University of Malta.
Emanuel Schembri - Visiting lecturer at the Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malta.
Last updated: 17 Nov, 2023